Continuous belt freezer having removable compartments

ABSTRACT

A continuous belt type freezer has a flat belt and one or more grid units of substantial length and breadth which are placed on the belt to form pockets for a product prior to being frozen, the individually frozen product units being separated from the belt and the grid as the belt moves downwardly and the grid continues forwardly from the discharge end of the freezer.

United States Patent [191 Shapley et al.

[ 1 March 6, 1973 CONTINUOUS BELT FREEZER HAVING REMOVABLE COMPARTMENTSInventors: Gail C. Shapley, Seattle, Wash.; William J. Wakatsuki,Bridgeton, N.J.; William J. Scheffer, Waynesboro, Pa.

Assignee: Frick Company, Waynesboro, Pa.

Filed: April 14, 1971 Appl. No.: 133,976

U.S. Cl. ..62/63, 62/345, 425/440 Int. Cl ..F25d 13/06 Field of Search....62/345, 72, 380, 63; 425/440,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,419,953 5/1947 Knowles..62/345 3,261,178 7/l966 Okada ..62/345 Primary Examiner-William E.Wayner Attorney-A. Yates Dowel] and A. Yates Dowel], Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT A continuous belt type freezer has a flat belt and one ormore grid units of substantial length and breadth which are placed onthe belt to form pockets for a product prior to being frozen, theindividually frozen product units being separated from the belt and thegrid as the belt moves downwardly and the grid continues forwardly fromthe discharge end of the freezer.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures CONTINUOUS BELT FREEZER HAVING REMOVABLECOMPARTMENTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tunnel type freezers, in whicha conveyor carries a product therethrough, have been used for manyyears. Some of these have been of the flat belt type in which theproduct is placed on the belt without any provision for forming ormaintaining units of the product. In some, the units have beenpreformed, such as fish cakes or various kinds. Others have employedpackaging for the product, either partial or complete, in order toprovide for freezing of product units of a desired size. There has beena need, however, for the freezing of units of product which have notbeen previously packaged, and for insuring that units being frozen aremaintained separate from each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS It is an object of the presentinvention to provide in a continuous belt type freezer, a product sizinggrid in which various products may be frozen in units of the desiredsize and shape and thereby result in products of uniform length,breadth, and thickness, ready for market packaging, and which isapplicable to freezing'apparatus of the flat belt type and withoutrequiring the use of a different belt or belt driving means.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical elevation, partially in section, withthe length foreshortened illustrating one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail of the discharge end of the freezerillustrating the separation of the product from the freezing belt andgrid;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sections on the lines 5-5 and 6-6 illustrating thefreezing action of the rollers against the grid;

FIG. 7 is a perspective of an open-sided grid; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective of a grid having the sides enclosed.

With further reference to the drawings, a freezer is illustrated havinga freezing compartment or housing 10 which may be of any suitable lengthand width and having an inlet end 11 and a discharge end 12, and mountedon supports 13 and 14. A conveyor of the flat belt type 15 is positionedto be continuously moved through the freezer. The belt runs over a firstdrive roller 25 which 'is illustrated as positioned at the discharge endof the freezer and is driven from a motor 21 by belt 22 through suitablepulleys. At the intake end the belt passes over an idler roll 23. Fromroller 25 the belt changes direction from substantially horizontal to adownward direction, passing over lower idler rolls 26 and 27 and back toidler roll 23 at the freezer inlet.

The apparatus described thus far is of conventional nature and wellknown to those skilled in the art. The housing 10 and the belt 15 as itpasses through the housing may be refrigerated in any desired mannersuitable for freezing the product onto the belt. This may includepassing gaseous refrigerant through the housing, spraying liquidrefrigerant onto the product, or onto the belt, or any combination ofthese or other means which are known to those skilled in the art.

The present invention includes provision for freezing the product inunits of the desired size and shape on the belt. In order to accomplishthis, one or more honeycomb structures, or grids, 28 and 29, such asindicated in FIGS. 7 and 8, are provided. These may have open sides asindicated in FIG. 7, or the sides may be closed, as indicated in FIG. 8.Although those indicated in FIGS. 7 and 8 are represented asapproximately square, it is contemplated that the grids may berectangular or elongated, this being a matter of choice and as v suitsthe handling of a particular product in a given installation. The gridshave open tops and bottoms and are of a height suitable to thepredetermined height of the unit products which are to be frozen. Incontact freezing, the height or thickness of the product is ordinarilyin the range of to 1 inch.

In order to positively move the grids with the belts, an endless belt30, 31 is secured to the outer surface of each side of the freezing belt15. The grid retaining belts may be of the rubber V-belt type andattached as by gluing to the outer surface of the freezer belt 15adjacent to its edges. The height of the belts 30 and 31 shouldpreferably correspond to that of the grid itself, which as indicatedabove in a contact freezing installation would ordinarily be in a rangeof about to 1 inch.

It will therefore be seen that the freezer belt 15 with the gridretaining belts 30 and 31 move together as a continuous unit aroundrollers 23, 25, 26, 27. The overall width of the grids should be suchthat they fit closely between the belts 30, 31. The grids may be made ofany suitable material which will retain its flat condition when placedon the freezer belt and which is easy to clean and handle. Variousplastic materials are known which may be used.

In order to facilitate positioning of the product within the grid asfrom a conveyor C, a support table, or shelf, 40 is positioned adjacentto the entrance end of the freezer housing 10. The table 40 supports theunderside of the belt prior to its entrance into the freezingcompartment 10. Other supports may be used where needed.

At the discharge end of the freezer an upper roller 45 is mounted aboveroller 25 for engaging the grid as it discharges from the freezerhousing, the rollers cooperating to hold the grid at this point in flat,unflexed position.

Mounted forwardly of the rolls 25 and 45 are upper and lower flexingrolls 47, 48. As indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rolls 47 and 48 aremounted on shafts 49 and 50, respectively, which are driven throughgears 51, 52 through a pulley 53 driven by belt 54 from a suitablesource of power, not shown. At the other end, the shafts 49, 50 extendthrough bores in the rolls which are eccentric, the same for each roll,in order that as they rotate, the rollers will continuously tip fromside to side and thereby produce flexing of the grids as indicated inFIGS. 5 and 6. The purpose of the flexing is to facilitate and insuredislodging of any product that may be retained in the grid after thefreezing belt passes around the roll 25..In order to assist indislodging any product from the belt itself, a blade or doctor 58 ismounted on the bracket 59 in a position to engage the belt as it beginsto change direction in passing around the roll 25.

A support, such as a conveyor 60, is positioned adjacent to thedischarge end of the freezer for receiving the empty grids 28 or 29 asthey are discharged from the freezer. Beneath the support 60 is aconveyor 62 which receives the product units P from a slide 64 which ispositioned with a downward inclination from beneath the rolls 47 and 48.Conveyor 60 may be at approximately the same height as the run of thebelt through the freezer in order that as the belt changes direction thegrid is separated therefrom. However, conveyor 60 may be at a lowerelevation, if desired, provided that there is space between the grid asit leaves the belt and the belt for the products to be dischargedbetween the belt and the grid.

If desired, the support 60 and conveyor 62 may be mounted within thehousing or framework 65. To assist in cleaning the belt, sprays 66 maybe positioned beneath the rolls 25 and 45, a drain being provided in thebottom of shield 67.

In the operation of the embodiment of the invention a grid of thedesired type is placed on the belt prior to its entering the housing ofthe freezer and in engagement with the side belts 30, 31. The belt maybe stopped for sufficient period to fill the openings, or pockets, inthe grid, although this may be accomplished while the belt is moving.The pockets are filled with the desired product which may includevarious items such as fish cakes, crab cakes, shrimp cakes, fishsandwich thins, clam cakes, eggs, stew meat, chicken meat, chili beansand meat, soups, sauces of all varieties, cake batter, preserved fruits,chopped vegetables, pet foods, and plastic materials. The product isfrozen into individual units as it passes through the housing. Upondischarge'from the housing the belt changes direction as it passes overthe roll 25 and the grid continues in a substantially horizontalplane asit is flexed by the rolls 47 and 48, the doctor 58 assisting indislodging the product units from the belt and in-retaining the productwithin the pockets until theyhave passed the rolls 47 and 48 followingwhich they drop by'gravity onto a chute 64 and conveyor 62 from whichthey are gathered for packaging. A quantity of grids may be collected atthe discharge end of the freezer and periodically carried'to theentrance end for re-use.

What is claimed is:

I. In a freezer of the type in which a continuous flexible belt is movedthrough a freezing zone and then changes direction and returns in whichproducts on the belt are frozen, the improvement comprising providing agrid having openings at the top and bottom of a width which may becarried on the belt, a d of a length which is convenient for handling,mean adjacent to the discharge end of the freezing zone for supportingthe grid and permitting it to continue in substantially the same planeas the belt changes direction, and means positioned adjacent to thedischarge end of the freezing zone for receiving the product as itbecomes dislodged from the belt and the grid.

2. The invention of claim 1, and means adjacent to the discharge end ofthe freezing zone for flexing the grid.

3. The invention of claim 1, and means on the belt for engaging a gridto cause the grid to move with the beltthrough the freezer.

4. The invention of claim 3, In which the engaging the freezing zone,moving the belt with the filled grid through the freezing zone andfreezing the product in said spaces, continuing to move the gridforwardly after it leaves the freezing zone, changing the direction ofthe belt to a direction which diverges from the plane of the grid afterit leaves the freezing zone, thereby separating the belt from the grid,and dislodging and collecting the individually frozen product units fromthe belt and the grid as the belt separates from the grid.

.. 4 3* II i l

1. In a freezer of the type in which a continuous flexible belt is movedthrough a freezing zone and then changes direction and returns in whichproducts on the belt are frozen, the improvement comprising providing agrid having openings at the top and bottom of a width which may becarried on the belt, and of a length which is convenient for handling,means adjacent to the discharge end of the freezing zone for supportingthe grid and permitting it to continue in substantially the same planeas the belt changes direction, and means positioned adjacent to thedischarge end of the freezing zone for receiving the product as itbecomes dislodged from the belt and the grid.
 1. In a freezer of thetype in which a continuous flexible belt is moved through a freezingzone and then changes direction and returns in which products on thebelt are frozen, the improvement comprising providing a grid havingopenings at the top and bottom of a width which may be carried on thebelt, and of a length which is convenient for handling, means adjacentto the discharge end of the freezing zone for supporting the grid andpermitting it to continue in substantially the same plane as the beltchanges direction, and means positioned adjacent to the discharge end ofthe freezing zone for receiving the product as it becomes dislodged fromthe belt and the grid.
 2. The invention of claim 1, and means adjacentto the discharge end of the freezing zone for flexing the grid.
 3. Theinvention of claim 1, and means on the belt for engaging a grid to causethe grid to move with the belt through the freezer.
 4. The invention ofclaim 3, in which the engaging means is an endless belt mounted on theouter surface of the flexible belt at each side thereof and spaced toreceive closely a grid.